Sector Update: Financial Stocks Decline Friday Afternoon

02:07 PM EDT, 10/30/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Financial stocks were lower in Friday afternoon trading, with the NYSE Financial Index shedding 0.9% and the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) off 0.6%. The Philadelphia Housing Index was flat, and the State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLRE) was up 0.6%. Bitcoin (BTC-USD) was decreasing 0.8% to $77,142, and the yield for 10-year US Treasuries was dropping 5 basis points to 4.939%. In economic news, the quarterly US employment cost index rose by 0.8% in Q3, as expected in a Bloomberg-compiled survey, and slower than the 0.9% gain in the previous quarter, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Friday. The Institute for Supply Management's Chicago PMI reading fell to 55.3 in October from 58.8 in September, versus the 56.0 expected in a Bloomberg-compiled poll, indicating a slower pace of expansion. In sector news, Blackstone (BX) told investors that Anthropic may not receive an investment-grade rating after its IPO and instead could receive a "high" junk rating from the major credit-ratings agencies, the Financial Times reported. In corporate news, Global Payments (GPN) is the target of a potential take-private bid from Clayton Dubilier & Rice, which has teamed up with the payment processor's largest shareholder on a joint offer for the firm, the Financial Times reported. The shares surged past 10%. Goldman Sachs (GS) is in talks to buy a controlling stake in South Korea's Tmap Mobility from SK Square, the largest shareholder with a 63.23% stake, news outlets reported. Goldman shares were down 4.8%. Cboe Global Markets (CBOE) shares jumped past 8% after the company reported higher Q3 adjusted earnings and net revenue, and raised its 2026 organic net revenue outlook.